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By their figures I need two 9.1 kw/hr batteries @ 196 kg to get a range of 17 nautical miles at 17-24 knots.
I use 36 litres of petrol for a range of 36 nautical miles at 18 knots.
So to get the same range I need ~ 400kg of batteries assuming the thing still planed.
Goodness knows what four 9.1 kw/hr batteries costs!.

How to recharge the batteries.
Please do not say solar panels on the roof of the boat.
The amount of solar energy that falls on a square metre is tiny.
Even if you could cover the roof of your boat with panels it would power a piddling trolling motor only, forget about a beast like the Torqueedo.
So its back to mains power which means coal or if you have plenty of time and the solar panels at home you may be able to rig something to recharge the batteries.

In summary, practical, affordable, powerful electric boat propulsion is a very long way off.

Re: Let's have some science on electric outboards

Re: Let's have some science on electric outboards

I think we are still behind in solar technology at the moment we have two types of solar panels those that work on sunny days and those that work on cloudy days you'd think in today's technology they would have combined the two for optimum success

i realistically think solar panel recharges on a boat are not realistic not even close but in saying that there is no different to charging a battery bank at home taking out the battery bank for a days fishing than filling up the gas tank and taking that out for the day however there is no pollution there is no oil use or waste going into our waterways, there is no noise pollution, you come home from fishing 4 5 hours u have an empty fuel tank, you come home with a empty battery bank same thing

you guys are already using electric motors on your boats its the beginning of revolution in another 200 years it will impact our world like no other imagine all the asian countries running nothing but 2 strokes imagine if it impacted these countries where they too ran electric motors its a far reach but very possible

electric technology ends up cheap very cheap as it advances quiet fastly once the demand is put in to place

i think we need low RPM high torque electric motors with strong gearboxes to propel our boats, you guys who run watersnakes etc... are all contributing to our new technology and advancements

Re: Let's have some science on electric outboards

Affordable large electric outboards with long range cells to suit a long way off. 20 years plus. In the meantime diesel is the fuel efficient alternative for large outboards as r and d in modern ice engines is finished. Weren’t too many diesel cars on the road 20 years ago now how many are there?

Re: Let's have some science on electric outboards

We can all huff and puff and say it isn't possible, and you will never move away from your carby 2 stroke and all sorts of things, but the reality is, we simply don't know, things advance at alarming speed, yet at times a snails pace, who knows if we will run out of fossil fuels? who knows if battery power is the real future? who knows if the next lightweight, instant charge battery is not just around the corner? right now we are all thinking electric and battery, yet what if some sort of space age drive system is just lurking to be found, this is like everything we have today, some nutbag laboratory dude is fooling around with "something" and it opens a whole new door!

Re: Let's have some science on electric outboards

i started to respond and ended up editing the original post. I just love technology when it works, lol.

i was just poking fun at the way people try to understand technology in their own ways. Definetly left of field, totally inacurate and thus funny. I didnt mean it to be too serious guys.

motors used for propulsion all have max power at the get go.

photovoltaic cells all work on the same principle, the absorbtion of photons. The difference between panels is how many photons and at what wavelengths. Thats assuming you define solar power as the usage of photovoltaic cells. If you want to be real technical, solar furnace, wavepower and wind are all solar power. But solar with clouds and solar without clouds, now thats NEW technology, lol.

fair dinkum power is dog whistle for coal power. Tip, electrons can tell where they come from. Always raises a chuckle. And yes coal power is so efficient that it will never be built here again, the market deems it too expensive. What we have is just a historical overhang. The end of the stone age didnt result in the end of stones, thry are still around.

as the march of progress accelerates, so too will the takeup of electric outboards.
if you checkout electric cars, you will see that apart from the upfront costs, they are a miser's dream machine. Not many moving parts, sweet fa servicing costs and cheap to run. When the purchase price drops, you would have to be real crazy not to go that way. Stubborn as a mule type stupid. It could be the fastest stampede ever envisaged. I see no reason why it wouldnt apply to outboards as well.

the csiro recently came up with the idea of storing hydrogen as ammonia. It costs $350/ton to produce. It can feed a fuel cell to produce electricity and water. This solves the missing jigsaw piece. Electric outboard, fuel cell and a tank full of ammonia. For those of us who have anxiety issues, this is your modern solution.

electric motor, super efficient, max hp at low rpm, very very few parts, no maintenance for life, super compact, super low weight. So whats not to like eh?
fuel cell, very efficient, can be portable- use it for the car, camping, the home. no moving parts, no maintenance. Ammonia in, electricity and water out. Whats not to like?
ammonia, cheap to produce form of hydrogen, safe/dangerous as petrol, no major infrustructure changes required, may require a bit more than petrol but only marginally so, can be produced at home ( according to the csiro, production can be scaled). I am starting to warm to this idea.

now if you combine the three, you start to see many other benefits. No battery required! Thats 10kg and $200-300 saved. And i havent had time to think about other possibilities.

knowing what we know, the electric motor is the least of the issues. We KNOW its the best. The method we use to feed it is what is the real technological driver. If you analyse the value of an ICE engine, its the ready availability of fuel. If i had to guess, we will probably have a mixture of technologies according to usage requirements and price. A boat hire would be more than happy with batteries, solo adventurers would require a different fuel delivery system such as fuel cell. Ships would ditch deisel power generators completely. Subs would have ammonia and be self sufficient.
the field has opened up, and their racing............

Re: Let's have some science on electric outboards

Hi All
So. no surprise i'm a big fan of tech and toys :built my whole buisness around it after all. And as such i was super keen to become a torqeedo dealer, ive used them, owned them and wanted to sell them for some time. Electric outboards do have a way to go compared to cars "two different uses and markets etc". However there is still a strong market here in australia for the Cruise series torqeedos. (about 1.5hp) in the Grey nomad class. the ease of use and transport is infinitely better than petrol. with ownership costs being higher but not by all that much. Mind you its nice when you get thank you cards from people saying how they no longer scoffing down voltarin after lugging a petrol outboard to their tinny or inflatable.